


Process of Elimination

by SpeedyElite



Category: Big Hero 6 (2014), Big Hero 6: The Series (Cartoon), Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Adopted Sibling Relationship, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Brotherly Bonding, M/M, Post-Kingdom Hearts III
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-13
Updated: 2020-04-13
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:00:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,090
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23626537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpeedyElite/pseuds/SpeedyElite
Summary: Now that he really looked at Riku, he could see the signs of reluctance to process. And though he wanted to know what had happened and was worried about Sora's situation, he needed to focus on what he could do immediately over what he might be able to help with. Riku was here – Sora wasn't. // AU Canon-Divergent.
Relationships: Riku/Sora (Kingdom Hearts)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 36





	Process of Elimination

**Author's Note:**

> A collection of one-shots & drabbles for a self-indulgent AU scenario. Because I am forever frustrated with Riku having to go through so much alone, I've decided that it's time people helped out. While exploring the worlds, searching for Sora, what if people got more involved? And what if someone got a little more involved than others? Someone who knew the pain of loss & was able to help with coping? Who better than one nerdy genius with super hero qualities? Follow Riku on his journey to find Sora & his process of healing with his newfound companion. And who knows, maybe Riku will gain a new sibling along the way. 
> 
> This is incredibly self indulgent & I hope you all enjoy this process of healing & growth.

“I just gotta get my backpack from the garage!”

Hiro opened the door to the garage, trotting down the stairs in a reckless hurry, clumsily tripping down the last step. Sweatshirt hung loose from his small frame, sleeve barely put on as the other hand shoved his toothbrush between his teeth. He quickly looked over his work area, seeking out the familiar strap of his backpack.  
“Hiro,” his Aunt's voice called from the open doorway, “Are you almost done?”  
“I'm comin'-”  
“Your friend is here.”  
“Okay, Aunt Cass,” Hiro called, huffing. Where was that _bag_? “There,” he said, voice muffled as he grabbed the bag, setting it atop his swivel chair. Biting down on the toothbrush, he reached for a textbook ( thrown on his table from a late night study session ), promptly shoving it between his tablet and notebook. Grumbling under his breath, between suds of paste, he shouldered the bag and turned back toward the stairs, struggling to wiggle his arm into his opposite sleeve, fighting the now weighted backpack strap.

He slammed into something solid, toothbrush jabbing into his cheek, backpack sliding down his arm as he stumbled back.  
Hiro scoffed, jerking his head up to glare accusingly at the other. Brows that were pinched angrily were suddenly rising, jaw slack as his toothbrush dangled from the corner of his lip. Shoulders dropped, backpack sliding down as straps were caught in barely functional hands.  
“Are you okay?”  
“Y-You,” Hiro stammered, wide eyes staring directly at a set of _teal_ eyes he didn't recognize, but a **look** he most certainly did. White hair, tall stature, and a familiar voice that had taunted him.  
  
_'I_ _ **did**_ _promise I would return it where I found it.'  
'So... his name is __**Riku**_ _? And you_ _ **know**_ _him?'_

“... _You_!”

Hiro spat out his toothbrush, lifting his backpack to swing at the other. Riku let out a startled sound, taking the heavy swing to the arm, stumbling to the side, footing slipping. Hiro tried to swing upward, but Riku toppled forward and Hiro fell backwards, the two tumbling down the last few steps. Hiro yelped, crashing backwards into the ground, an elbow ramming into his rib cage, a hand shoved outward to palm-heel strike against a shoulder. Riku let out a strained sound, movement finally coming to a stop as they both laid splayed in a messy pile on the garage floor.  
“In hindsight, I should've done that better,” Hiro grumbled, glaring at the garage ceiling. He heard a snort, followed by a light chuckle.  
“... It's nice to meet you, too.”

* * * *

Hiro held out an ice pack, motioning for Riku to take it. The taller took it from his hand, setting it against his head with a muttered  _ thanks _ . Hiro winced and moved to sit down in his swivel chair, scratching his hair with a sheepish chuckle. After ushering both Baymax and  _ Baymax  _ from the garage ( once he had assured them that Riku was not hurt and he only needed an ice pack ), Hiro had turned his attention back to the other, settling himself in his swivel chair, resting his heels on the lower rung. He turned toward the couch Riku was on, clearing his throat.  
“Sorry about the whole backpack thing.”  
“That's all right,” Riku said, looking back at him with a crooked smile of his own, “I take it you've seen me before.”  
“Well, I've seen  _ a  _ you.”

The memory of what Riku ( or  _ not  _ Riku ), had done was still fresh in his mind. Even though a few  _ months  _ had passed since then, he never seemed to shake off the feeling that there was still a presence within the city – and not just Obake's lingering ghosts. Perhaps it had been a trick of his eye, or the dark bending just the right way, but he could have sworn he saw a figure in a black coat, similar to Riku, lurking in between the narrow walls of the skyscrapers downtown. One time, he thought he saw them on the rooftop of the business district's tallest building, but when he landed, there was nothing there. So, to see Riku walking down the stairs to his garage, where he had his tech and suit statistics, had come as quite a shock. After the initial scare, however, Hiro had felt incredibly embarrassed for how he had reacted – especially toward on of Sora's own friends.  
“The Riku that was here before wasn't exactly  _ friendly _ .”  
“Yeah,  _ I know. _ ”  
“... You know, I would ask what the deal is with that, but I'm pretty sure it's against your 'rules',” Hiro said, hands raising as he flexed air quotes.  
Riku's expression seemed stoic, though the subtle quirk of his lips showed signs of a possible smile.  
“How do you know there are rules?”  
“You don't know me very well, but I'm a  **lot** smarter than people think. I could tell Sora was from somewhere else about ten minutes after talking to him.” Riku huffed through his nose, akin to a snort, and shook his head.  _ Typical  _ Sora. And yet, the thought seemed to bring about a slightly sadder expression. Knowing that Sora had, once again, touched a chain of new hearts and created new bonds was both a comfort and an aching torment. He had traveled to the newest worlds Sora had been to, after making rounds through previous sectors, hoping to find signs of him somewhere –  _ anywhere _ . So far, he had turned up with no sign and  _ San Fransokyo  _ was his last stop before he was out of leads.

Hiro hadn't known much about Riku – only what Sora had told him. Which, to be fair, was a lot. There were days that Sora just gushed about Riku, snapping pictures he simply had to show him, or trying to catch a good angle because, ' _ Riku would never believe this _ '. Hiro had found it to be endearing and, needless to say, was interested in the idea of meeting him. But, for all the talking Sora had done about Riku, Hiro wasn't prepared to see  _ that  _ familiar expression on a stranger's face. He knew that expression ; the strained brows, the tense jaw, the worrying teeth on the inside of the cheek, and the far off look in eyes seeking an answer where none had been found.  _ Loss _ . A sinking pit formed in his stomach and Hiro wondered what Riku was silently mourning ( and why he suddenly felt fear creeping up along the back of his spine ).  
“So _ oo _ ... what did you come here for?”  
“Huh?”  
“Sorry, I just meant – well, I didn't expect  _ you _ . Not that you're not invited or anything – any friend of Sora's is a friend of ours, but I just didn't expect – well, I thought  _ Sora  _ would be the one to show up first. He kept saying how much you'd love this place and that he wanted you to see it. Is... he with you?”  
Riku's expression fell and Hiro instantly regretted asking the question. And yet, as the regret dawned, so too did realization, and Hiro was suddenly yearning for answers. Riku leaned forward, his posture hunched as he rest his arms on his knees, hands resting together to hold the ice pack, head lowered.  
“That's why I'm here.” Riku took a breath. Hiro could see it in his eyes before he said it, and there was a familiar feeling gripping at his throat, preventing the questions he wanted to ask. The same feeling he felt when he remembered how quiet his room was, when he stared at the untouched half with disdain, when he encountered first holidays and events with one less person – he knew the fear he felt. It wasn't the fear of the unknown – it was the fear of  _ knowing _ . 

“...Riku?”  
“I've been searching for Sora everywhere.” Although his voice shook, it was so subtle that Hiro could tell he was restraining himself. The teenage hero knew that feeling – he was constantly dealing with the pain of loss and, from what he had experienced and seen, Riku was doing the same. He wheeled himself a little closer, head tilting as arms crossed. When Sora had been in the city last, he had explained this other group – the Organization – and then there was that Riku who alluded to a bigger plan for a bigger boss. Piecing together with genius and heroic history, Hiro assumed that something had happened in a bigger fight. Head lowered as he felt gravity increase between them ; both were feeling the same, though Hiro was sure the intensity of it was more for Riku.  
“Don't Donald and Goofy know? They were glued to him when he was here.”  
Riku shook his head slowly. “Sora went off on his own. I've been searching for him ever since – we _all_ have.”  
“Right...” 

Hiro frowned. Sora had been a good friend to them – he had helped them when they needed it and even helped  _ Hiro  _ when he needed it most. And though they had only spent a few days together, Hiro had felt a connection between them – a stronger friendship, like the rest of the group. He looked back to Riku, brows pinched. Now that he  _ really  _ looked at Riku, he could see the signs of reluctance to process. Dark circles under teal eyes that seemed to soften when he talked about Sora, lips pulled into a tense line, brows furrowed as he struggled to withhold emotional output. Hiro remembered what it felt like to look that way. And though he wanted to know what had happened and was  _ worried  _ about Sora's situation, he needed to focus on what he could do immediately over what he  _ might  _ be able to help with. Riku was  **here** – Sora  _ wasn't _ .  
“...Are you okay?”  
“What?”  
“No offense, but you look pretty  _ tired _ . I mean,  _ are  _ you okay?” Maybe it would help alleviate some of the weight he knew was resting on Riku's dipped shoulders. He offered a lop-sided, encouraging smile as teal gaze met his own. “It's okay if the answer is no, y'know. Trust me – I  _ know _ .”  
Riku stared for a long moment before shoulders dipped and he let out a long sigh, lowering his head. Sora had trusted Hiro – they were friends and, from what Sora had said, Hiro was a  _ good  _ person. He could see, clear as day, that there was a  _ light  _ within Hiro's heart that was almost as radiant as Kairi's. There was a kindness within that he knew was most likely the reason why he and Sora got along so well – he had said Hiro was part of a  _ super hero  _ team. Riku could only imagine the worry Hiro caused for his own friends, if he was  _ anything  _ like Sora. He twisted the ice pack in his hands, running thumbs over it slowly. He took a breath and looked up at the other, gaze averting after a moment.  
“... It's just been a rough few months.”  
“I know the feeling.”

  
There was a brief moment of silence. Awkward and heavy with the weight of a loss introduced and a loss not yet processed. Riku looked down, running his hand through his hair, ice pack gripped in the other. Although there was no explanation, Riku knew that Hiro had suffered at least one major loss ; Sora had explained it quite clearly, ' _ He had a brother, but there was a fire.'  _ Riku didn't feel comfortable enough asking anything detailed when he wasn't too sure about Hiro's history – after all, it would be rude to give the impression that Sora told everyone about his brother. He looked down at his boots, nudging the ground with the edge while he worked through his thoughts.  
“I'm  _ tired, _ ” he said, voice low. Hiro huffed and tapped his feet on the ground.

  
_ “Right _ .” Hiro wheeled himself away from the couch, rounding about to his desk, hands flying over the keyboard to activate three holo-screens. He pulled up a few different screens, tapping the center of each one to not only open different maps, but a history of logs. He scratched his hair, mumbling to himself as he started typing in a few commands, bringing up a chart on the side of his team, which included Sora. He was going to have to scan the entire city at once, just as before. Not only that, but he needed to access past recordings – maybe get a hold of CCTV footage, security cameras and traffic cameras. Any  _ trace  _ would be better than the nothing Riku seemed to be clinging to.  
But it was worrisome. If Sora had been in the city, wouldn't he have come straight to Hiro? Not because of necessity, but they were friends. Riku glanced to Hiro, tipping his head as he slowly moved to stand.  
“What are you doing?”  
“Searching for Sora,” Hiro said, eyes flicking along the screens. Riku gently grabbed the edge of Hiro's chair, leaning forward to look over the screens with interest. He had worked tediously in  _ Radiant Garden  _ with the computer system, but Hiro's looked entirely different.  
“How are you gonna do that?”

  
“We're gonna scan the city for him first. If he's here right now, we'll be able to see it. And if he's not, then we move on to step two.” He flicked on a larger map screen and turned to look at Riku before his eyes moved to the stairs.“Baymax,” he called, leaning back in his chair, calling up the stairs, “Baymax!”  
_ “Yes, Hiro?”  _ The robot was lingering at the top of the stairs, voice gentle and echoing as it drifted down. _  
_ “Scan  _ San Fransokyo  _ for Sora.”  
_ “Scanning for: Sora _ .” There was a brief pause.  _ “Scan complete. There are  _ _**ZERO** _ _ results for: Sora.”  
_ “Mm. That's what I was afraid of.” Hiro tapped his chin and wheeled back to his computer, fingers drumming the touch-screen keys once more. “I'll have to start accessing past footage gathered from everything around the city – even footage from the cameras on our suits. If there was a trace of Sora here at all, we'll find it.” 

Riku blinked in mild surprise. Hiro hadn't asked for an explanation or even stopped to  _ think _ . It was as if he thought and processed at the same time, moving to act before anyone could even think to stop him. Sora was right – Hiro was a  _ genius _ . And yet, he felt a creeping guilt rising within him. Hiro didn't know him very well – he was simply going off of the fact that he was Sora's friend and that was all he needed.  
_ Any friend of Sora's is a friend of ours.  
_ Teal gaze settled on the discarded backpack on the floor.  
“Don't you have school,” Riku asked lamely, motioning to the bag. Hiro glanced to his backpack, then back up to Riku.  
“Eh, I can skip classes today. I'm ahead of schedule in most classes.” A lie, but Riku wouldn't know that.  
“Hiro-”  
“Riku. You just told me that Sora is essentially  _ missing _ . I'm not gonna go to class when I can do something here.” 

Riku opened his mouth to say something, but stopped as Hiro lifted a hand, waving it in his face.  
“It's gonna take all day for me to get a good backlog of some footage from different cameras around the city. It'll be difficult, but not for  _ me _ .” He crackled his knuckles, leaning back to give the other a smug smirk, eyes glinting with mischief. “Meanwhile, you can start telling me what happened.”  
“I don't think-”  
“Yeah yeah. The 'rules',” he said, air quotes accompanying the word once more, “No offense, Riku, but I've seen another  _ dimension _ . I'm pretty sure your rules can be bent a little bit- that's what they were  **made** for.”  
A perplexed expression was met with another smug smirk as Hiro shrugged a shoulder.  
“I'm not asking you just because I want to know.” Hiro stared up at Riku, brows lifting as a gentle smile formed ; encouraging and empathetic. “I'm asking you so that you can just get it all out. Trust me, it helps  _ sometimes _ .” 

The young Master wasn't sure how to take that. While people had often asked what happened to Sora, it felt as if most were simply concerned with the details and the actions that took precedence afterwards. What Hiro was offering was for him to simply  _ talk  _ without having to formulate a plan. When was the last time he just...  **vented** ?  
“I know what it feels like to lose someone. Sometimes you just wanna scream, but you can't when everyone's looking to you for a solution, you know?” Hiro motioned around. “Sora... helped me – helped save  _ my friend _ from that other Riku, from the Organization, and from the other dimension. I  _ owe  _ it to Sora to  **try** – to  _ help _ his friend find  _ him _ . It's my turn to return the favor. So, I don't wanna argue about it.  _ Someone  _ has to help.”

  
Riku chuffed. Sora's words echoed in his mind ; the memory was clear. Sora was sitting beside him, flipping through pictures taken with Hiro during his time in the city.  
_ 'You know, he reminds me a lot of you, actually. He's got a lot on his shoulders. I hope he figures it out. You guys would get along.'  
_ After a moment of hesitation, Riku sighed, shoulders dipping as lips curved into a subtle smile ; bittersweet in nature as fond memories rose from the depths where he'd kept them. Hiro's lack of respect for the rules, his willingness to jump into a situation unknown to him –  _ reckless _ . Just like  _ himself  _ sometimes. He huffed through his nose and nodded his head once, fingers curling into a gentle fist at his side.  
“... All right.” 

  
“And you  _ might  _ wanna cancel any plans you have later,” Hiro advised, turning to look Riku over, “This'll take all day and pretty much all night, so it'd be better if you crashed here with us. My Aunt's making  _ Gyukatsu _ tonight. And probably a funky dessert. So, I hope you're hungry!”  
Riku blinked for a few moments before he let out a soft sound, something between a laugh and a sigh of exasperation. He could see the  _ Light  _ within the young hero – so bright and radiant, ebbing with kindness reaching out to those around him. A heart that knew pain and loneliness, but also knew healing and strength. He wouldn't be surprised if  _ this  _ was the Guardian of  _ San Fransokyo's  _ **heart** . He gently pulled a stool over and sat upon it, resting arms on his knees, hands releasing their gentle fists ;  _ releasing  _ the tension of  **hurt** .

  
“... I could eat.”  
“Good. Now... let's see if we can find a lead.” 


End file.
